7 Ways to Fill Up Your Walls

Spell out a name or use initials in a kid’s bedroom or playroom. Crafty Kraft paper letters, $4 each, landofnod.com. Shown here painted Exuberant Pink by Sherwin-Williams.

Cloth-covered books from yard sales and flea markets will hang flat against a wall once you remove the pages. The key is to look for ones with hollow spines so the pages can be sliced free with a crafts knife. To hang them, tap a small nail or an upholstery nail into each corner.

A variety of polyurethane ceiling medallions (available at home improvement stores) make expensive-looking wall art when they’re painted similar shades. The medallions are lightweight, so they’re easy to hang. Use strong glue like Liquid Nails or, for a temporary hold, try strips of Velcro. Nail the back part of the Velcro to the wall to make it extra secure. “Trace the medallions onto kraft paper. Stick the paper circles to the wall with painter’s tape to help plan your design,”—Tiffany Brooks, HGTV Smart Home 2014

Pick a date that has special meaning to your family, and group a collection of those numbers. Different sizes and silhouettes look best, so mix house numbers, framed prints, and plastic or metal block numbers from flea markets or eBay. Hang framed prints from picture hangers, house numbers from nails, and block numbers from nails or screws tapped partway into your wall. “To keep an arrangement of different-size objects from looking too crazy, anchor them around a shelf or piece of furniture that has a straight top.”—Vern Yip, Live in Vern’s House

Shallow woven baskets in a mix of sizes and colors make a super-graphic display. We found most of these at basketsofafrica.com. To hang the baskets, hammer a nail with a small head near the center of each so the edges of the baskets overlap. Start with one big basket and work your way out.

Vintage produce crates (find some at thecratepeople.com) become storage shelves once they’re prettied up with paint. Let dry, then drill a hole in each corner and screw or nail them to the wall.